Sound Income Strategies LLC Grows Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Sound Income Strategies significantly increased its AutoZone position during the third quarter, acquiring 659,500 additional shares and making the retailer its largest holding at 42.9% of its portfolio. The firm now owns 4.04% of AutoZone, valued at approximately $1.87 billion.
• AutoZone shares rose 0.9% to $2,935.62, while the company reported 5.6% year-over-year revenue growth to $6.59 billion in its latest quarter. The board also authorized a $1.5 billion share-repurchase program, covering up to 3% of outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $3,669.12, although Morgan Stanley recently downgraded the stock to “market perform.” Institutional investors own 92.74% of AutoZone’s shares.

Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 646,568.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 659,602 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 659,500 shares during the period. AutoZone accounts for about 42.9% of Sound Income Strategies LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned 4.04% of AutoZone worth $1,866,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $713,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 33,193.5% during the second quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 15,315 shares of the company's stock worth $48,946,000 after buying an additional 15,269 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in AutoZone during the second quarter worth $27,287,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at $233,576,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 923.1% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,957,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:AZO traded up $25.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2,935.62. The company had a trading volume of 145,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,154. The firm has a market cap of $47.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $2,945.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,145.03. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,730.65 and a twelve month high of $4,146.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $55.51. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.65% and a negative return on equity of 90.08%. The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $48.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 171.5 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total value of $4,510,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,367,100. The trade was a 76.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer set a $3,400.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,450.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered AutoZone from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut AutoZone from an "overweight" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,669.12.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.

In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.

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